Realtor "April Fool's'" Jokes

"Can I Please Speak to Myra Mains?"

Courtesy of City Lakes office manager Josh Kaplan, here is a classic April Fool's joke for -- make that on -- Realtors, especially "newbie" Realtors.

Here's the set-up:

The front desk leaves a voicemail for the intended Realtor-victim (plural, ideally), telling them that they have a lead for them. The prospect's name is "Myra Mains"; her number is 612-927-01x7.

Here's what happens next:

Realtor: 'This is Jane Doe at Edina Realty. Can I please speak to Myra Mains?"
Other line: . . . .'click' (sometimes preceded by a "Ha! Ha! Very funny!")

It's funniest when the Realtor persists and re-dials a couple times before catching on.

The phone number, of course, belongs to a local funeral home.

Real Estate & the "Miley Cyrus Factor"

"30 Under 30?"
How About "50 Over 50??"

The overwhelming question that arises from the 82nd Annual Academy Awards goes like this: what level of respect should we accord to an industry that finds a place onstage for Miley Cyrus, but not for Lauren Bacall?

Resplendent and omniscient, sat Ms. Bacall, long since blessed with a place among the gods, on the empyrean heights of movie history, yet consigned, for the purposes of Sunday night, with a lowly place in the stalls.

When her name was announced, she stood and waved, like the Queen, and was pleased to note that her subjects rose to pay appropriate homage; but she was forbidden, nonetheless, to mount the sacred stairs, where Miley had gone before.

--Anthony Lane, "The Anxiety of Age"; The New Yorker (3/8/10)

"Ageism" may be most pronounced in Hollywood, but it's also abundantly evident in other professions, too.

Like real estate.

To take just one example, Realtor magazine has an annual piece called "30 under 30," that features 30 up-and-coming Realtors nationally under the age of -- you guessed it -- 30 years old.

How about celebrating some of the more "mature" members of the profession?

Dear Realtor magazine -- here's a thought: how about an annual feature called "50 over 50?"

After you're done profiling me, you just need to find 49 more Realtors over 50 (I now make the cut by 3 months).

P.S.: At least in my opinion, it's easier to teach an "older" Realtor how to use Facebook, Twitter, instant messaging, etc. than to impart judgement and experience to a "newbie" Realtor.